Come Back to Me
by xXRikaWitchOfMiraclesXx
Summary: Sequel to SCHOOLBOUND. After three long years, Porky has finally managed to take over Tazmily. Lucas, Claus and a group of unlikely heroes will do whatever it takes to bring him down. LucasxNana ClausxOC
1. Welcome to Hell

**Hey, everyone, this is Rika saying thanks for deciding to read this! Yes, it's finally here, the sequel to **_**SCHOOLBOUND**_**. If you've never read **_**SchoolBound**_**, don't worry; it's summarized here. If you do still happen to be confused, I'd recommend you read it. Ok, enough talking or writing or whatever!**

**Come Back to Me **

**Chapter 1 – Welcome to Hell**

…

***yawn*** …Oh, what's this? Well, it looks like I have some guests today. Um, one of my walls is just a bunch of iron bars, so in a way it doesn't really count... Not too many people come here except for the ones who administer the medicine.

Oh, it seems I haven't introduced myself yet, I apologize. My full name is Christiana Poname, but I'd prefer it if you would call me Dia. You see, I used to call myself Chris, but that name carries too many bad memories, so I've come up with the identity of Dia Poname.

…You really shouldn't have come, but since you've stayed this long already, why not stay? I could use someone to talk to.

This place… it's a prison for people like me. I can use a special ability called PSI. About four years ago, I was chased out of my home because of it. I ended up in a village called Tazmily, part of the Nowhere Islands. I met some other PSI users, and they were great friends. I miss every single one of them. Because of a very complicated issue that I'd prefer not to tell you about at the moment, most of them came from other times, so it was a huge time paradox. They left about three years ago, fixing everything the best we could. But we messed up, and some friends and I had to suffer because of it. Two of my PSI friends were actually from Tazmily, so they of course stayed, but not too long after, they went with their mother to visit their grandfather.

During the week they were gone, my twin brother, Risk, had a vision. He saw Tazmily get corrupt and ruined because of a person I like to call the Pig King. He stole the mechanism created to fix the paradox and somehow ended up in Nowhere Islands. The only difference is that he's about 1000 years old now. He knew the two other PSI users, Lucas and Claus, were gone but he knew Risk and I were PSI users and why we were chased from our old home.

***sigh***… Please don't think differently of me, but Risk and I killed a man. It was out of self-defense, for one thing, and for another, he kidnapped an old friend of mine. We didn't want to, but we were having a very hard time controlling our PSI. Well, King P, the Pig King, had a member of his insane army, Fassad, turn the whole town against Risk and I and we were arrested. I haven't seen my friends or family for almost three years. Actually, in a couple of weeks or so, it'll mark my third year since I was arrested.

Claus and Lucas were twin brothers and I… I love Claus. We were planning on going out, but it had to be after Claus visited his grandfather. During that one week, Risk and I got arrested and Lucas and Claus' mother was killed by a once gentle creature altered by this army. Lucas and Claus were devastated, but Claus, being more of a "man of action," wanted to avenge his mother's death. I remember not long after I had been arrested, I saw members of King P's army dragging a broken Claus in here.

I convinced the soldiers to let us speak in return for me getting punished, which I still remember the pain, but I also remember Claus and I told each other we loved each other… I haven't seen Claus since then. I'm worried for him and the others.

King P told me about some experiments he had scientists running. All I know is that Risk and Claus were supposed to be part of it.

So that's pretty much what's happened in this three year gap. I guess I should try and explain this place I'm in. From another perspective, it doesn't seem that bad, but we get beat for the simplest defiance to the Army. We're called "Workers" instead of Prisoners, and we have special IDs based on our birth date. I'll try and explain later.

Oh, yeah, and if you're wondering, all of us "Workers" wear long jackets that end near our ankles with a light pink pig snout on the back. They come in different colors; dark gray or black and light gray or white jackets. I have a light gray one.

That way, we have some type of uniform. Other than that, we can where whatever we want, a "replica" outfit given to of what we wore when we were brought in. My clothes have changed over the years.

Oh, _zut_! They're here to give me the medicine to stop me from using my PSI. It lasts for approximately 24 hours, and the last they gave me it was about… 21 hours ago. They rang the annoyingly loud buzzer for everyone to wake up nearly 20 minutes ago, so I should've been expecting this.

***sigh*** Well, good-bye… for now.

…

The Pigmask soldiers walked to the next cell on their list. One pushed the cart of PSI Blockers while another carried the keys and a chart saying when the Worker had last received the PSI Blocker. The other two walked beside them. The group reached the cell.

"Which one is this?" one of the soldiers asked. He was new to the job, and his first task was to help with the special medicine.

"This is Worker F1017," another answered quietly. The Pigmask carrying the keys unlocked the cell door. The new soldier wondered what kind of worker F1017 was, but followed his cohorts. The cart was kept outside the cell, but one Pigmask took a needle from the cart.

The new Pigmask saw that the Worker was sitting on her bed with her head low. A curtain of long pitch black hair covered her face, not letting anyone see the girl's face.

"Worker," a Pigmask said loudly. The Worker slowly got off the bed. She was wearing a light blue shirt with exposed shoulders, black shorts with extra pockets, and had a pair of large light brown boots in the corner. A neatly folded light-gray jacket lay on the bed with an ID card resting on top. The Pigmask thought this was strange for a Worker to be wearing, but left it alone.

"Time for your medicine," the new Pigmask said as he stood by the door so she wouldn't try and escape. The girl merely held out her arm. The Pigmask holding the PSI Blocker held the girl's arm as he injected the needle. The girl made no sign of pain. The new Pigmask thought the girl must've been here a long time.

"Worker F1017, today you will be washing dishes," another Pigmask said.

"Fine," the girl muttered. The Pigmasks left as the girl put on her boots, jacket, clipped her ID card to the jacket and walked to the kitchen area.

…

"Hey, Dia, it looks like we're working together again," a voice called. Dia turned and saw a girl with dark tanned skin, dark blue hair and a white jacket walking towards her. It was Inari, a PSI user who had been in the prison just as long as Dia, only two weeks longer. Inari was a few months younger than Dia, making Inari 15 and Dia 16. Inari's birthday would be over a month from then. The purple-haired girl briefly fixed her hair ribbons.

"Oh, hello, Inari," Dia said, smiling slightly.

"So, what do they have you doing today?" Inari asked.

"Dishes, sadly," Dia said, sticking her tongue out in disgust. "And you, Inari?"

"I have to get the dishes once the Pigmasks are done eating. So, I guess we really will be working together," Inari said, smiling.

"Yeah, I just hope I get some help from other Workers," Dia said.

"Hey, Dia, I really hope the Fat Asstard isn't here today," Inari cursed.

"I hate him. Last time, he ate so many bananas, they dried up on the plates and it took forever to get them out," Dia said disgusted.

"All of them are pigs, aren't they?" Inari said.

"Yes, yes, they are. Oh, we should get to work before the guards catch us talking," Dia said, staring at the Pigmask soldier coming inside to check on the Workers. Dia walked to the sink, where she saw Marcella, another PSI user. Marcella, or Marcie, was only 13 years old and had choppy dark hair. Her light gray jacket covered her clothes. The trays were lined up and ready for the two girls to wash.

"Dia, hey," Marcie said.

"Hi, Celly," Dia said, using the girl's alternate nickname. She rolled up her jacket sleeves and grabbed a tray of dishes. Dia went to a sink and started washing the dishes.

"So, D-Dia, how long have you been here again?" Marcie asked. Dia sighed.

"It'll almost be three years since I've been here," Dia said quietly.

"Oh, right, when will that be?" Inari asked, carrying a tray full of dishes as she walked past Dia and Marcella.

"Hey, Inari, you're back already?" Dia asked.

"Yeah, and I jinxed it. The Fat Asstard is here," Inari groaned as she set the tray down.

"You know, one of these days, he'll find out you're calling him that," Marcella said.

"Well, I don't really care, emo," Inari teased.

"I told you, I'm scene, not emo," Marcella said. The two laughed. Dia sighed as she'd never understand their friendship.

"Hey, Inari, the guards are watching us. You should go already, not that I don't love having you here," Dia muttered as she saw a few guards looking towards the small group.

"No need to be sarcastic, Dia," Inari teased.

"Huh? I wasn't being sarcastic," Dia said, but when she noticed Inari had already left, she sighed and continued to wash dishes. Dia and Marcella managed to clean a few trays full of dishes when Inari came with another girl. They set the tray full of dishes on the rack.

"Inari, my hands are gonna be all wrinkled," Dia said sadly.

"Sorry, it's the Fat Asstard," Inari said with a distasteful look.

"Aw, h-he's here today? Boo," Marcella said. Dia chuckled at the younger girl's antics, but groaned in annoyance.

"That banana eating tub of lard is going to make today the worst," Dia said. The girl with Inari laughed. "Oh, Zanny, I didn't notice you there."

"Hey, Dia," Zanny replied. She had short dark blue hair that was uneven and layered, wore a white jersey top with elbow-length red sleeves and dark grey jeans. The girl's uniformed dark gray jacket covered most of her body.

"Hey, Zanny, Inari, the guards are coming this way," Marcie hissed. The two turned and saw Marcie was right and quickly left.

"F0608, F1017, you two know the rules," a Pigmask Guard said, standing behind the two.

"No talking to other workers," another Pigmask said.

"We weren't talking," Dia muttered. "They just dropped off the trays."

"For your sake, we better not catch you two talking to anyone anymore," one Pigmask guard said, the two walking away. Dia and Marcie shared knowing glances. They continued washing dishes, not speaking at all.

…

"Ooh, we're finally done," Marcie yawned, stretching as the group walked to the Worker's cafeteria. Inari and Zanny had brought the last trays of dishes and decided to help the other two girls.

"Shame that as soon as we're done eating, we'll have to wash our own dishes," Dia said as she walked.

"At least everyone washes their own," Inari said, shrugging.

"Yeah, let's just get some food already. I'm hungry," Zanny said, racing to the food line. A group of Workers had to prepare food for everyone in the entire base; the Pigmasks, the Workers, and if he was there, King P himself. They were kept under heavy surveillance by Pigmask guards to ensure that the Workers didn't try to put poison in the Pigmasks' or King P's food.

Dia had a longstanding fear of fire, so she was glad she rarely cooked. But when she did, other Workers who knew about Dia's fear would help, making sure Dia simply cut food or got ingredients while the others cooked the actual food. Dia thought that was the only good thing about being in the base; that she had learned to cook, somewhat.

Zanny had already gotten a tray full of food and started eating as she waited for the rest of the group to get their food.

"Zanny, find us a table, we'll be there soon," Marcie said to the older girl.

"Mmhey," Zanny said with her mouth full of bread. The rest of the girls got their food and were walking to the table Zanny had gotten them. A boy was sitting at the table, but at the end by himself. Dia noticed this as the girls sat down.

"Hey, who's that?" Inari asked Zanny.

"I'm not sure. He was sitting here by himself when I came," Zanny whispered. Dia had actually seen the boy a few times, but he didn't talk to anyone.

"Hey, Dia, do you know what tomorrow is?" Inari asked, snapping the girl from her thoughts.

"Oh, yeah, tomorrow's your three year anniversary in this place, right?" Dia asked.

"Yeah, three long years of hell," Inari muttered.

"I heard in a couple of weeks it'll be three years since some boy was brought in here and brainwashed into a Soldier or something," Zanny said. Dia froze at this. It could've only been Risk or Claus.

Dia spaced out as she thought about her twin brother and her…her… Dia closed her eyes at the thought.

"Hey, Dia, are you ok?" Marcie asked.

"Huh…? Oh, I'm fine," Dia said, faking a smile.

"Hey, it'll almost be three years since you've come here, right? In about how long until then?" Zanny asked.

"Two to three weeks," Dia said quietly.

"Oh," Zanny said.

"Inari… I don't know about you, but I think three years is enough. We need to get out of here," Dia said quietly enough for the table to hear. This also meant the boy sitting at the end of the table heard her, too.

"Three years?" the boy asked quietly. The girls all stared at him.

"Uh, yeah, Dia and I have been here for almost that long," Inari said.

"Try almost ten years," the boy said bitterly. Dia and Inari glanced at each other.

"Y-You've been here for t-ten years?" Marcie asked.

"Yeah, since I was six," the boy said.

"Uh, your ID card says you're M0807," Zanny said, noticing the ID card clipped to Seth's black Pigmask jacket. A small group of Pigmasks walked past their table.

"Yeah, but you can call me Seth Ruke," the boy said.

"Oh, h-hi Seth," Zanny said uncomfortably. Tension was in the air.

"I… made things awkward, didn't I?" Seth asked, laughing nervously. The girls didn't laugh. Seth had light brown hair and blue eyes, wore a watch on his right wrist and had fingerless gloves.

"S-So, Seth, I guess we should all introduce ourselves, huh?" Inari asked. "The name's Inari."

"Oh, I'm Zanelle Skye, but call me Zanny," Zanny said, smiling.

"Uh, I'm Marcella, Marcie or C-Celly," Marcie stuttered, waving.

"Just call me Dia," the last girl said swiftly, not caring much about this boy as she continued to eat.

"Oh, well, hi," Seth said nervously.

"Uhm, Seth, do you… want to help us?" Inari asked.

"Help with what?" Seth asked.

"What do you think?" Dia asked bitterly. She didn't mean to, but that was simply the way she talked.

"Oh, right. It'd be easier if we could speak telepathically," Seth said quietly. The group stayed quiet as a Pigmask walked past their table. Once he was out of earshot, they continued talking.

"But how can we… you know, g-get out?" Marcie asked.

"We'll need a map first. Then we can start actually planning," Dia said, focusing on her food as she thought of her own plan.

"H-How will we get a map?" Marcie asked.

"I'm no thief," Dia said, taking another bite of food. "So, any of you willing to sneak into the Conference Room?" Dia asked.

"I can," Inari said.

"Guards," Marcie muttered as a few Guards started walking past tables. The group continued eating as all the guards walked past them. But the guards continued to walk past all the tables, more coming as more Workers came to sit down and eat.

"We'll talk later, during dinner," Zanny muttered. The group's mission was clear; break out of the base.

…

Dia sighed as she finally finished cleaning King P's throne room with Seth and a few other Workers. King P was going to arrive in a few days, so the Workers had to make sure his room was 100% clean. She took the bucket of once-clean water, went to the nearest bathrooms and dumped it into the showers. Dia sat on her knees and put her hand to her forehead as she thought about the plans to escape. If they failed, Dia would be punished and forced to continue her training.

Dia didn't tell anyone, but she had been forced to train to become a member of the army. It had started when the Pigmasks had found out about her special PSI's affects. It could absorb other user's special PSI (if used by them) to add the latter's effects and make the twins' stronger. Dia and Risk were able to control not absorbing other people's PSI, but the Pigmasks had been playing with Risk's PSI coding. Wondering how they got to it, Dia knew it couldn't have been good.

"Risk…" Dia said softly as she thought about her younger twin brother. Dia's eyes started watering as she thought about the trouble she had caused all those years ago.

"Hey, Worker, you'll miss dinner if you sit here all day," a Pigmask Guard said. Dia looked up at the guard. She quickly stood up, grabbed the bucket and left the bathrooms. She put the bucket back in the cleaning supply room and made her way to the cafeteria. She quickly got some food and searched for her friends.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," Dia said as she sat down next to Inari.

"What held you up?" Zanny asked. "Weren't you cleaning with Seth?"

"Yeah, what took you?" Seth asked.

"Oh, just thinking," Dia said, taking a bite out of her food. It had been a simple meal of chicken and rice.

"What were you thinking about?" Marcie asked.

"Oh, nothing important," Dia said. She didn't need others to know about her personal life.

"Well, should we start?" Seth asked, being vague so the guards wouldn't catch on.

"We really should be quieter," Zanny whispered.

"I agree," Dia muttered.

"S-So, what are we going to do?" Marcie asked.

"We need to get that map first," Inari said. "As long as we get that, we can find a way to break out o–," Inari was cut off when someone put their thick gloved hand on her shoulder. She froze as she had been caught.

"What's that about breaking out, girly?" the person asked gruffly. Inari slowly turned to the guard. The group tensed at how easily they had been caught; only a few hours after they had even begun planning.

Dia studied her surroundings; a guard behind Inari, and more surrounding the group's table. Other Workers or Pigmasks not surrounding the table all watched anxiously. They screwed up already.

"So what was that about breaking out?" another Pigmask asked.

"You know what happens when you try and oppose us," the Pigmask behind Inari said.

"You five are in need of some… punishment," another Pigmask said. Dia glared at the Pigmask behind Inari. She held her fork and slipped it into her jacket's pocket while everyone focused on Inari and the Pigmask. This might've been their chance.

"Take these deviants to the Conference Room," the Pigmask behind Inari demanded. Pigmasks behind the five PSI users grabbed them, putting the PSI user's arms behind their backs. The PSI users were handcuffed and dragged out of the room.

Dia just hoped that her plan would work.

…

**AND CHAPTER ONE IS DONE! I kinda don't feel like enough was explained, but oh well. Marcie, Zanny, Inari and Seth belong their respective owners: Pk Love Omega, rakkicharms, Riku's Music lover, and PerfectPhoenix.**

**Sorry if I messed up on your guys' OCs! I'm not very good when it comes to that ^^;**

**So Chris, who has changed her name to Dia, gives a lengthy summary of SchoolBound and explains a bit about the "Base", or the prison. The prisoners are also referred to as "Workers" so it doesn't seem wrong, even though they were forced to work for the Army and cook and clean and other things. The gang is completed and plans to break out, until trouble arrives. Will they make it out?**

**About "F1017" and the other codes, the Workers are coded by gender, their birth month, and the day. So, since Dia is ****Female**** and she was born on ****October 17****, she is coded F1017. If two Workers share the same gender and birth date, one will be FA[birth date] or MA[birth date], and the other(s) will be the next letter.**

**Chapter 2 "Taishou A". Selected Quote: "**Just what the hell do you think you're doing?**"**

**Review or Dia will use her mysterious special PSI on you once she and the gang escape!**

**~Rika**


	2. Taishou A

**Hey everyone! First, for everyone in America, happy Fourth of July!**

**Alright, time for chapter 2! *insert super happy smiley face here***

**I started playing MOTHER 3 to get notes. I'm already on Chapter 5! It's so fun, but the Jealous Bass was such a horror to take out. (=_=;) FFFF- Mr. Passion! UUUUGGH! I spent so much time defeating Barrel Men to get some Nut Bread and survive that battle which took such an embarrassing number of do-over's (somewhere between 2 and 10. Take your guess.)**

**DISCLAIMER****: I do not own MOTHER 3, only my ideas and characters. Inari, Zanny, Marcie and Seth belong to their respective creators; Riku's Music Lover, rakkicharms, Pk Love Omega and PerfectPhoenix.**

**Come Back to Me**

Chapter 2 – "Taishou A"

…

Huh? You're here again? Now's not exactly the best time to talk. My friends and I were caught planning to escape. I have a plan to get away from the Pigmasks, but if I mess up, the outcomes are all very dangerous. Oh, _crap_! Sorry! I just almost tripped right now. Look, I really need to go. I'll try and see if I can talk to you again. This is actually strange since I can't speak telepathically to anyone else. How are you all getting this?

…

"Keep it moving, F1017," a Pigmask barked at the teenage girl.

"It's really hard to walk when you're being pushed and dragged," Dia retorted. She winced in pain as she was struck across the face, making no audible noise, but her face clearly in pain.

"No talking back, freak!" the Pigmask dragging Dia ordered. Zanny glanced worryingly at Dia. The five PSI users and guards entered the Conference Room. The PSI users were unceremoniously thrown in. The door was locked from the other side.

"We'll see you as soon as we're finished with other things," a Pigmask said gruffly. Sounds of diminishing footsteps were heard. The five PSI Users sat silently in the dark room.

"Great, now what do we do?" Inari asked.

"Damn it, there goes our chance," Seth said.

"Guys… don't you see?" Dia asked.

"This is perfect," Zanny said.

"W-What do you mean?" Marcie asked.

"We can find a map here with no one to bother us," Dia explained.

"And then we can plan to escape," Inari said, nodding.

"But we have these handcuffs on us. How are we going to find everything?" Seth asked. Dia wordlessly struggled to get her fork from her pocket, taking some time with her restraints, but eventually pulled it out. She showed Seth and smirked.

"Dia, that's great," Inari said happily. Dia scratched herself a couple of times, but eventually got the fork to fit in the thick lock.

"Ah, that's better," Dia said as she rubbed her wrists, cuff free.

"These handcuffs suck if a fork could get them loose," Zanny said. Dia chuckled as she freed her friends.

"Great, now what else can we do with this fork?" Marcie asked as Dia got the last set of handcuffs off of her. Marcie threw her handcuffs in a pile with the rest.

"How about picking a lock?" Zanny asked as she examined the lock on the door.

"It might work. I've never picked one before," Dia said. "Can anyone else do it?"

"I can't. I need to find that map," Inari said.

"Oh, uh, me neither. Hey, Inari, I'll help you f-find a map," Marcie said.

"Ok," Inari said, nodding.

"Seth? You're our last choice," Zanny said, turning to the teenage boy.

"I can try," Seth said, taking the fork from Dia. He and Zanny started working on the lock. All the locks in the Pigmask army really did suck.

"If you unlock it before we find the map, make sure the door stays open, but looks closed," Inari said, walking with Marcie to find a file room.

"Wait, I'll help, too," Dia said, going with the two other girls.

"Hey, what if the fork breaks?" Seth asked.

"Uh…" Dia looked around the room. She ran to a few cabinets to see if she could find anything to use as backup. "Paperclips…" Dia muttered as she grabbed a few and stuffed them in her pocket. She quickly handed Seth and Zanny half the amount before running after Marcie and Inari. They found a room filled with several cabinets, probably containing several important documents used during meetings.

"Alright, let's find a map," Inari said, taking Marcie with her. Dia stayed behind. She needed to know…

Dia quickly ran to a large cabinet with a small label reading 'Workers'. Dia shook her head as she realized the Pigmask army couldn't get anything right. She strained her eyes trying to read the words.

"Let's see… Piden… Pinel… Pollen… aha, Poname," Dia muttered to herself as she found her brother's file. But what she saw… Dia nearly dropped the folder in shock of what she read.

"N-No… h-he wouldn't…" Dia fell to her knees. Her twin brother had been a test subject, being 'Subject A,' and Porky's personal "pet". Risk Poname, Dia's younger twin brother was a follower of Porky, the person they hated the most. But that meant…

"Claus!" Dia gasped as she quickly searched through the cabinet. She quickly found it, ripped out the file and searched frantically through it.

"Claus… they've changed you …" Dia muttered. She saw a picture of Claus wearing a strange mask and decided to take it if she ever found him. She put the file away and took a deep breath to calm down. The teenage girl went to find Inari and Marcie, but they came running to her.

"We found enough for everyone," Inari said breathlessly.

"W-We looked through… so many cabinets… w-what were you doing, Dia?" Marcie asked.

"Yeah, where were you?" Inari asked angrily.

"I was looking for something about my brother," Dia said.

"Y-You have a b-brother?" Marcie asked as she, Inari and Dia walked back to where Seth and Zanny were.

"Yeah, but they separated us a long time ago," Dia said quietly.

"Hey, we got the door open, but it won't stay," Seth said as the group of three reached their friends.

"Oh, here, give me the fork," Dia said. She simply placed the flat part under the door's open space and the door stayed where it was.

"Well, Inari, show us the map," Zanny said. Inari handed a map to everyone and unrolled her own.

"Our best exits are here and here," Inari said, pointing to a few areas.

"That's perfect. Let's go, dinner's probably almost over," Seth said.

Making sure the door still appeared closed, the group snuck around the walls, being careful not to be spotted by the few wandering guards. But they weren't careful enough.

"Hey, what are you doing?" A guard yelled.

"Run," Inari yelled. The five continued to run back down the hall when a group of seven Pigmasks suddenly blocked their path straight. Luckily, it was at a cross between two hallways.

"Split up," Seth yelled. Zanny, Marcie and Dia went right while Seth and Inari went left. The guards also split up as three went left and four went right.

"Ok, there's another hallway up ahead. We should split up again," Zanny said, quickly checking her map as the PSI users continued to run. Zanny and Marcie turned into the corner while Dia continued to run straight. The guards split up, so only two were chasing Dia down the long hallway.

"Crap," she cursed as she quickly turned a corner and immediately reached a room. Without thinking, she ran into the room and saw a chair. She arranged the chair so the doorknob wouldn't be easily opened. She heard the Pigmasks run another direction and sighed.

"What are you doing in here?" a voice suddenly asked, making Dia flinch. She turned around and felt her heart skip a beat. This person... Dia pulled out the photo from before.

"Claus…" Dia said softly. Before her, Claus stood, tall and masked with a shorter black jacket than the Worker's with a fluffy white collar, baggy orange pants and dark gray boots. The large mask Claus was wearing didn't let Dia see his face well, but the small bits of reddish-orange hair poking out from underneath the mask confirmed it. Claus also had an arm cannon strapped to a box-like item on his back.

"I'm going to ask this again; what are you doing in here?" Claus asked again. His voice had gotten deeper over the years.

"Claus, y-you don't remember me?" Dia stammered.

"I've never seen you before. Are you one of the Workers in here?" Claus asked. The girl ignored his question.

"… Claus… it's me… it's C-Chris," Dia said, using her old name for the first time in years.

"Chris?" Claus asked.

"Yes, Claus, it's C-Chris Poname," Dia said, hoping he remembered.

"I don't think I've met a person named Chris Poname," Claus said. Dia gasped softly. What was going on? "You're a Worker, right?"

"Uh, I'm currently undergoing training to be like you…" Dia subconsciously said, focused on other issues. Although what she said was partly true, she still searched for the reason why Claus couldn't remember anything.

"Training to be like me?" Claus asked skeptically.

"Er, yes, in fact, I was used to test out that arm cannon and that… mask…" Dia said as she remembered what happened.

"You were used to test them?" Claus asked. Dia heard banging on the door and gulped nervously. The Pigmasks had finally caught up.

"I-It's your mask," Dia stammered.

"What?" Claus asked.

"That mask you're wearing. I-It's not letting you remember… That's what happened to me. I wore it, but I have no memory of what I did while I wore it," Dia said.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Claus asked sharply. Dia heard the doorknob moving as if someone were trying to open it.

"U-Um, is there anywhere else we can talk?" Dia asked, getting nervous.

"Why, what's going on?" Claus asked.

"I-It doesn't matter, just, show me?" Dia asked. Claus reluctantly led her to a small office. Dia realized this was where the scientists would stay as they tested their experiments, where they had stayed while she (and possibly Claus) was under the control of the mask.

"T-Take it off," Dia said quickly.

"I'm sorry, what?" Claus asked, shocked at the sudden question.

"Your mask," Dia said urgently.

"Take off… my mask?" Claus asked.

"Yes, please, hurry!" Dia said frantically, grabbing Claus' shoulders. He stared at her before reaching up and taking the strange mask off his head. Claus' face was the same, only looking more matured, and his hair had grown longer and messier than ever. Dia gasped. One of Claus' eyes was the familiar green and the other was red.

"What do you want me to do now?" Claus asked.

"Claus… your eye…" Dia said.

"What about my eye? And why do you keep calling me that?" Claus asked.

"N-Never mind. Look, d-do you remember anything?" Dia asked. Tears were welled up in her eyes. Claus shook his head slowly. "Oh, Claus, please! Try to remember!"

"I have no idea who you are," Claus said. Dia's hands were still on Claus' shoulders.

"No… " Dia's voice shook. She hugged Claus as tightly as she could, feeling something wet run down her cheeks. "Please, I need you back!" She was crying now, more than she had in a long time. "Claus, you have to remember, _please_! Remember Tazmily! Remember your twin brother Lucas and your dog Boney an-and Flint, your father! Remember your precious mother, Hinawa!"

"Mother…" Dia heard Claus mutter urgently. Just then, the door was bust open. About six Pigmasks filled the room.

"Get her away from the Commander," a Pigmask yelled. Dia held Claus tightly, not wanting to let go, but the Pigmask's thick gloved hands started prying her away.

"No, let me go!" Dia yelled as she tried to struggle, but she was dragged away from Claus to the entrance. Claus stood forward a bit, but was stopped by a Pigmask.

"Commander, are you ok?" he asked, pulling Claus back. Dia saw that his eyes were wide, but before anything could be done, a Pigmask punched her in the gut.

"Trying to run away, huh?" the Pigmask yelled. Dia was punched again, falling hard on the floor and the Pigmasks started stepping on and kicking her repeatedly.

"This is what we do to people who try to escape!" another Pigmask yelled. The Pigmasks stopped kicking her. One grabbed her hair and dragged her off the floor. Another held Dia's arms so she couldn't struggle.

"Get me the torch," the Pigmask holding Dia by her hair said. Dia's mind went blank. Her eyes widened as she gasped in fear. She was ok with the normal punches and kicks, but fire? She was screwed.

The Pigmask was handed a torch, and he pressed the button for the flame to start.

"N-n-no-not f-f-fire," Dia said shakily. The Pigmask laughed as he put the torch close to Dia's face.

"No, _NO_!" Dia screamed, frozen in fear. She whimpered as the flames got closer to her. Her biggest fear was right in her face.

Dia screamed bloodcurdlingly as the flames started burning her. "No, stop, it hurts!"

"_'No, stop, it hurts_,'" A Pigmask mocked. They all started laughing. Suddenly, their laughter was accompanied by screams. The Pigmask trying to keep Claus away was on the floor, unconscious. Claus had struck him with the back of a sword.

"C-Commander, what are you doing?" the Pigmask who mocked Dia yelled, screaming. The Pigmask turned the torch off to see what was going on. Dia turned and saw Claus holding a sword she recognized from her "training". A Pigmask behind him lay on the floor, twitching. Dia saw a small amount of blood pooling around the Pigmask.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Claus asked with pure hatred in his voice. A Pigmask tried to come from behind and grab Claus, but Claus immediately lifted his arm cannon and fired a blast that knocked out the Pigmask. Dia watched horrorstruck.

"Commander, what's going on?" the Pigmask holding Dia asked, but Claus ran up to him and struck his arm with his sword.

"_Ahh_!" the Pigmask screamed in pain, making him let go of Dia. She fell unceremoniously on the ground, watching in horror. Claus stood in front of her glaring daggers at the Pigmask.

"So it's true; you're all a bunch of pathetic pigs," Claus said as he fired his arm cannon. Soon, it was quiet.

"Claus…" Dia muttered, still crying. She clutched her burned cheek, still in pain. Claus put his sword away, kneeled in front of Dia and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Are you ok, Chris?" Claus asked. Dia gasped.

"… Y-You remember?" Dia asked.

"Yeah… when you mentioned Hinawa, all these memories just started flooding back to me. When I looked up, those bastards had a torch in your face," Claus said angrily.

"C-Claus…" Dia said softly.

"Why didn't you use your PSI to defend yourself?" Claus asked.

"Um, it's a really long story. Er, Claus, w-we should get out of here before more Pigmasks come," Dia said nervously.

"Oh, right," Claus said. He ran a hand through his hair. "Man, how long has it been? And… is my voice deeper?"

"A-Almost three years… and yes, it's, uh, it's… deep." Dia stared at the floor so Claus couldn't see her face. Claus and Dia stood up. "Um, Claus… my name's not 'Chris' anymore," Dia said nervously.

"What do you mean?" Claus asked with a confused look on his face.

"J-Just call me Dia. It'll get confusing, but please," Dia said. "Now, hurry up, we need to get out of here."

Dia peered out the door and saw that no one was in the area. She quickly checked her map and saw that she and Claus had been in the experimentation room.

"There's an exit straight down if we go this way…" Dia muttered, checking her map. "Let's go," Dia said, running down the hall with Claus following closely.

"But –" Claus started.

"Shh!" Dia hissed as they ran. A Pigmask stood at the exit.

"Hey, what are you two doing?" he asked. The two froze in their tracks. Claus suddenly grabbed Dia, putting his arm over her neck as if he were choking her.

"What are you-?" Dia whispered but it was Claus' turn to shush her.

"I found this Worker trying to escape the base. Lucky you stopped her or she would've reached the exit," Claus said, relaxing his grip on Dia.

"Oh, I see, Commander... Wait, what are you doing out here?" the Pigmask asked, walking towards them.

"Uh…" Claus stammered. "She ran into me trying to escape. I-In fact, maybe you should go and tell the other Pigmasks that I caught her. They were worn out from chasing her."

The Pigmask stayed silent for a few moments before saying "Great, I'll go find them, Commander." He walked away, and Claus and Dia sighed in relief.

"Alright let's get out of here," Claus said, walking to the door. It was unlocked. _Pathetic_, Dia thought as she followed, but soon heard a loud intercom starting to work.

"All Pigmask members in the facility, there's currently an escape attempt by Workers M0807, F0517, F0608, F1017 and F0116. Everyone but F1017 has been reported to have exited and is currently being chased. F1017 is also said to have kidnapped the Commander! Find them and bring back our Commander!

"Block off all exits and meet in the Conference Room to round up search parties. If the Commander is not found, you'll all have to answer to King P! Have a Pork day," the loud voice said, the last sentence having the most empathy. Dia recognized it as Fassad's voice.

"Shit," Dia cursed as she quickly pulled herself and Claus out of the building. The first thing they saw was that it seemed they were in the middle of a forest of some sort and that it was very dark out, but a large tower shone light in the opposite direction.

"What is that?" Dia asked, but heard doors opening.

"No time, just run," Claus said as he grabbed Dia's hand, pulling her through the forest.

…

**A ruined reunion and prison breaks. The other Workers might run into Claus and Dia, but it might not be soon.**

**Oh, and for all of you wondering, yes Lucas will appear. He, along with Boney, Duster and Kumatora will be in the next chapter. The story is set in mid Chapter 5 of the game, which means this story might be shorter than I'm planning.**

**Ah, the Pigmasks can't get even a prison right. SMH, Pigmask Army, S. M. H. (shaking my head)**

**Aw, you know Claus doesn't want anyone hurting the people he love x3**

"**Taishou A" is the name of a song I'm particularly fond of. The song is kind of dark, but it's a really good song with a peaceful melody and a dangerously dark message... yeah. I'd recommend the full fandub by ****Cinnamonpunch ****to understand the message. "Taishou A" loosely translates from Japanese as "Subject A," in this case, Risk. So he's "Taishou A."**

**Alright, enough drabbling nonsense! **

**Review please. Each review gets another Pigmask smacked in the face. Please, help our cause and smack a Pigmask in the face. Just one review, we don't even care if it just says "I want Lucas to come!1!1!One!" or even "I'm having pancakes." **

**Thank you for your time.**

**This message was brought to you by the Big Association Directly Aimed Straight Senseless (B.A.D.A.S.S.)**

_(… I needed a word to fit… don't judge me…)_

**Chapter 3 - Thunder Tower. Selected Quote: "**I never expected to run into you.**"**

**~Rika**


	3. Thunder Tower

[IMPORTANT]** Hello people who cared enough to actually read this! The other day I received a message from a user who will remain anonymous about Dia (Chris) and SchoolBound and how it '**_**broke the laws of fanfiction**_**' or some shit like that. First, yes, I understand my character has Mary-Sue traits, but you didn't need to go that far. Second, I will not remove my story. It's meant to be AU and yes, the characters are OOC. I even explained the story would be like that in the beginning U_U **

***claps hands together* Now, to feed these flames to my new pet Ultimate Chimera, Takano!**

**Takano: *roars and eats all flames***

**Good, Takano. Good. *evil laugh***

**Speaking of Takano, the Base in the last couple of chapters was based off of Takano Miyo's orphanage in **_Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni_**. Very long title, but the treatment was horrible. The orphaned children would be hurt and abused a lot. If one spilled their food, they would be forced to eat it off the floor for "wasting" the food. Pretty much, it was really crappy. D: When they escaped, they were recaptured and in the anime, you just hear… well… It's very traumatic for poor little Takano's friends. she was about to get the same treatment until she was saved. I felt for the insane antagonist once I learned her back story. *sob***

**Congratulations, my helpful reviewers, there's a large pile of Pigmasks in that corner **_**waaaay**_** over there whose faces are red and bulging in pain. :P Thank for supporting our cause.**

**We finally get to see Lucas in this chapter! And don't worry; there's much more of him later ;) We also get some fluff!**

**ALRIGHT, time to end this horrendously long AN!**

**Special thanks to the following****: Pk Love Omega, rakkicharms, Riku's Music Lover, piplupfan580, Starkirby1234 and Afterdawn95. You guys are awesome :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own MOTHER 3, only my ideas and characters. Besides, even if I did own MOTHER, Ninten would be my husband and Ana and Pippi would be emo about it.**

**Come Back to Me**

Chapter 3 - Thunder Tower

…

"Keep… chasing them!" a Pigmask yelled.

"They're still following us?" Dia muttered under her breath. Her asthma was starting to act up. She started coughing.

"You ok?" Claus asked.

"Yeah, fine, just *cough* keep going," Dia choked out. Her throat was getting worse as she continued to run. Adding on to her tired legs from running, she was ready to give out.

"Chris- I mean, er, Dee," Claus said, stopping.

"Claus, what are you *cough-cough* doing?" Dia wheezed, starting to go into a fit of coughs.

"Just keep going. I'm going to try and buy time," Claus said.

"What if they take you back?" Dia asked.

"Chr- agh, I mean, Dia, you should know by now that I can handle myself," Claus said, smirking. Dia hesitated and stared at him worryingly, but turned to run. She turned around and walked backwards and saw him behind a tree, warming up his arm cannon when her foot lost balance. She had slipped and fallen into a hole.

Dia squealed as she landed on hard ground and when she looked up, she saw several holes similar to the one she fell in. She heard someone- probably Claus- running when she heard something fall behind her.

"Claus?" Dia called. Claus groaned, but stood up.

"Where are we?" Claus asked.

"Like I know," Dia retorted sarcastically. She heard footsteps from above and pulled Claus by his sleeve towards the wall. They stayed quiet, listening to the Pigmasks as they ran in an opposite direction.

"Let's see where this leads to," Claus said, walking against the wall as the footsteps got quieter. Dia stayed, waiting for all the footsteps to disappear before quickly following suit.

"A mole wearing a construction hat… huh," Claus said as he saw the creature digging the wall in front of him.

"Uh, Claus, I certainly know we should get moving, but maybe we can sit down for a while and rest?" Dia suggested.

"Just for a while," Claus said as he sat against the wall. They sat in silence for several minutes.

"It's quiet…" Dia said.

"…Too quiet…" Claus added. Dia nervously hugged Claus, resting her head on his shoulder. It felt so strange after so much time.

"It's really nice to be with you again," Dia said. She mentally slapped herself as she realized how lame that was. No, scratch that- how lame _she_ was.

"It's better than being with all those Pigmasks, huh?" Claus joked, but Dia stayed quiet. "So, why'd you change your name? And why can't you use your PSI?" Dia stared at Claus for a few moments before sighing and staring at the ceiling of the dungeon.

"Ok, let's see… it wasn't long after I saw you... probably just a few days or weeks. I can't remember too well, but I just… didn't like my name anymore. Dia… it translates to the word _day_ from my native language. I took it from the _Tia_ part of my name and just changed the t to a d.

"I can't use my PSI because of the Pathetic Pigs. They created some special medicine to completely block PSI for about 24 hours and they give it to all the people trapped there," Dia explained.

"…Pathetic Pigs? Uh, well, how long until you can use your PSI?" Claus asked.

"Ugh, I've lost track of time, but I'd say possibly 14 hours," Dia said.

"Damn. We'll have to wait, then… So, Dia, there's a lot we can do down here without no one noticing or bothering us," Claus said mischievously. Dia groaned in disgust.

"First of all, you used a double negative. Second, we have more important things to be worrying about. Maybe we should keep walking now," Dia said, starting to get up, but Claus grabbed her wrist.

"And what'll we do if we run into anything?" Claus said.

"I can fight," Dia argued. Claus glared at her for a few seconds. Dia sighed in defeat.

"I guess you're right. I haven't gotten the best physical exercise in a while," Dia said as she sat against the wall and hugged her knees. She touched her cheek where she had been burned and cringed in pain. "_Ah_," she hissed quietly.

"What's wrong?" Claus asked.

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's just the burn," Dia said. She didn't want Claus worrying over her.

"… It must've hurt," Claus said.

"Oh, no, it didn't hurt that much, Claus," Dia said with a small smile. "I've dealt with worse. Actually, I found out why I'm really afraid of fire. Risk had blocked it from my mind, but it didn't work."

"Why are you really scared of fire?" Claus asked with curiosity.

"It was because of my PSI abilities. People were scared because we were different, me and my friends. They burned down my house while I was in there. I was trapped, but Risk and my mother saved me before anything really bad could happen. I still have a scar, but it's almost gone and it's not even noticeable," Dia recalled. Claus stared at her for a few moments.

"Dia… does your burn hurt?" Claus repeated.

"I already told you, it doesn't bug me," Dia said, smiling at Claus. He stared at her before bringing his lips to her burn. Dia felt the blood rushing to her face and was sure Claus would notice. He soon pulled away from her.

"W-What was that about?" Dia asked with a severe blush on her face.

"It's something I learned from my mom. Kisses are supposed to help wounds heal," Claus said with a smile. "You know, I have a cut on my lip," Claus joked, making Dia giggle.

"Oh, really now?" Dia asked skeptically.

"Yeah, mind helping me out with it?" Claus said suggestively. Dia felt her face get hotter, thinking it should be lethal for blood to flow that unevenly. Building her courage, Dia stared at Claus and pressed her lips against his.

It was awkward and a bit sloppy for a first kiss, but it was still passable. After a few seconds, Dia pulled away from Claus. He stared at her wide-eyed, and Dia saw a blush form on his pale face.

"You said you had a cut on your lip," Dia teased. Claus smirked and pulled Dia for another kiss. Dia knew it was lethal for the unnatural blood flow as she felt herself black out for a few seconds, but she quickly recovered.

"That's a reaction I don't get too much. Was it bad?" Claus said with a pout. Dia knew he was faking and smiled.

"It, uh… it was good," Dia said nervously.

"Cool," Claus said. "You wanna try it again? Maybe do some more?" Dia punched Claus in the arm.

"Pig," Dia muttered. The two stayed quiet for a few minutes. Claus finally broke the silence.

"…I wonder how Lucas and the others are doing…" he said under his breath. Dia stared at him and saw how troubled Claus' red and green eyes were at the thought of his family.

"Lucas…" Dia muttered. "I wonder what's happened to him… and with all the changes in Tazmily, too."

"We need to get back to Tazmily," Claus said.

"But how? We don't even know where we are right now," Dia said. A strange mole walking past them heard this.

"This is Unknown Valley, of course. Only we're more like Underground Valley," the mole joked. There was a silent tension in the air as Dia and Claus stared at the mole.

"Uh… thank you, but do you know how to get to Tazmily Village from here?" Claus asked.

"Tazmily Village? Wha- We're underground," the mole yelled angrily.

"You just said you knew this was Unknown Valley!" Claus argued back. Dia sighed.

"Well… it's great to have you back, Claus," Dia whispered as she watched the mole and Claus argue. She soon found herself drifting to sleep.

…

Dia was greeted to the sound of a woman humming. The song was a bit distorted, but familiar. She opened her eyes and found herself standing alone in the underground dungeon. She turned around looking for something, or someone, but she was completely alone. Dia gulped nervously, anxiety eating away at her.

"Stop hiding, Arson," Dia said loudly. A light shone in front of her and formed into the shape of a young woman. She had red-dyed hair with visible black hair growing from the roots in pigtails, an olive green dress, dark gray tights jeans that went a few inches past her knees and light brown sandals.

"Clever girl," she said. "How'd you know it was me?"

"I've known you for as long as I can remember, Arson. That song is your absolute favorite. How wouldn't I know?" Dia asked angrily.

"Ah, clever indeed," Arson said with a giggle. Dia glared at her.

"Why are you here? I don't have time for your games," Dia said.

"How rude… And I thought I was a bitch," she muttered under her breath. "The only reason I'm here is because I have a message for you."

"From who?" Dia immediately asked.

"I can't say, but it's important. Follow me," Arson said. Dia hesitated, but followed the strange woman. They walked around the dungeon when Arson reached an exit. She led Dia out and pointed to the tower she and Claus had seen before.

"That's your destination," Arson said as she lowered her arm.

"That tower? What's up there?" Dia asked.

"Your friend, Lucas, and possibly Risk," Arson said.

"Possibly Risk? What do you mean possibly?" Dia asked frightened. Arson stared at her for a few moments before lowering her gaze.

"I'm sensing his soul near that area, but something's not right about it, like it's not all there. He might not be at that tower when you're there," Arson explained.

"But your Soul Detect never fails, Arson… Oh, Risk… I hope for your sake that Risk is there, Arson," Dia said.

"Like you could really do anything to me," Arson retorted. "My job is done. You and your guy friend should get to that tower if you want to find your friends." With that, Arson disappeared in a flash of light.

…

Dia gasped and breathed heavily. She accidentally banged her head against the wall, letting a quiet but long "_Owww!_" escape her lips. As she moved her hand to rub her head, she noticed Claus had held her hand. Dia smiled, but tried to focus on what she had learned.

'_So… Lucas is close, then… and Risk_,' Dia thought.

"Risk and Lucas…" Dia said under her breath. She knew they were on that tower, possibly at that moment. Dia saw Claus still asleep and quickly released her hand to shake him awake.

"Mm, let me sleep," Claus muttered. Dia groaned and put all her force into slapping Claus. "Son of a bitch, that hurt," Claus yelled, sitting up and painfully slamming the back of his head against the wall as well. "What the hell!"

"Oh, we don't have time, Claus, we need to go," Dia said.

"Where to?" Claus asked.

"To that tower we saw. I had a… a vision and I saw Lucas and Risk on that tower," Dia explained.

"Lucas? There?" Claus asked in disbelief.

"Yes, now get your ass off the ground so we can find our twin brothers!" Dia yelled. Claus' eyes widened, but quickly got up.

"Alright, but how do we get out?" Claus asked.

"Here, come on," Dia said, running to the exit she had seen. Claus had gone ahead and fell through another hole. Dia groaned as she jumped down after him. Claus had fired off his arm cannon, and what looked like a lion's head on mechanical tentacles lay on the ground.

"Um, what is that?" Dia asked.

"I dunno, but let's get out carefully," Claus said, letting Dia lead the way out.

…

"What's with this highway?" Dia wondered as she stared at the large area. She and Claus remained hidden by Pigmasks blocking the entrance. "We'll never get through this in time."

"I dunno what we'll do about that, but I need to get to Lucas," Claus said.

"Then we can't afford to waste any more time, Claus," Dia said. "How are we gonna get there, though?"

"Leave that to me," Claus said. He pressed a button on his arm cannon and the backpack-like box popped out wings.

"_Oh my Pork_," Dia said awestruck. "They gave you wings?"

"Yeah, now let's get going," Claus said. He held out his arm to Dia, who nervously held him. Dia cringed when she saw two rockets on the wings.

"Pathetic Pigs…" she mumbled as the two started flying. Claus followed the path leading to the tower when they saw the entrance. He went to the ground where the Pigmasks couldn't see them.

"Should we go through?" Claus asked. Dia shook her head.

"Fassad might've told everyone of our escape by now," Dia said. She stared at the top of the tower and thought about her brother. What had the Pathetic Pigs done to him?

"Dia, are you feeling alright?" Claus asked. Dia blinked in surprise.

"Oh, sorry, Claus, I spaced out a bit. It's just…" Dia's voice trailed off when she saw flashes of yellow, red, pink and blue on the red open floors of the tower. "Is that…?"

Claus stared at what Dia was staring at and gasped. "You don't think it's…"

"Lucas! Lucas is up there! A-And he's using PSI, I can tell," Dia said excitedly. Her eyes shone at the sight of colored beams coming from the figure.

"Come on, we'll fly to the top," Claus said, walking towards Dia.

"Yeah, great," Dia said happily. The thought of seeing her friend and dear brother again after so long… Dia could've died right there.

…

Claus and Dia had reached the top of the tower. They stared at the large gun coming out of it.

"That must be what they used to destroy the houses of the people who didn't buy Happy Boxes back in Tazmily," Dia said quietly. "Some Pigmasks said it back at the Base."

"Should we wait for Lucas to come?" Claus asked.

"Yeah, but… Claus, do you know what happened to Risk?" Dia asked. Claus stared at Dia sadly.

"Dia… they made him like me. I watched as he lost his memory and became the Pigmask's puppet. I couldn't do anything about it because they were doing the same to me," Claus explained.

"So Risk won't recognize me or anyone else?" Dia said frightened.

"I dunno if you'll have time to save him like you did for me, but… wait, what exactly did you see in your vision?" Claus asked.

"Well… it was as if something led me to the tower and told me about our brothers," Dia said. She hated lying to Claus, but how could she tell him about Arson without wasting any more time?

"Oh… well, I'm not sure how you'll see Risk, but he won't recognize you immediately. That much is true," Claus said. Dia looked down.

"These pigs took away my family… I have no idea where my parents are… they might've been brainwashed, too, for all I know," Dia said sadly.

"Dia…" Claus said, but suddenly, the tower shook violently. It stopped soon, but footsteps were heard. Dia and Claus turned to the source and saw it. Claus took a step forward.

"Damn generator, took out most of my energy," the pink haired girl cursed. Dia tried to remember her name, but couldn't. She saw a young man with dirty brown hair, a blue shirt and pinkish pants. She saw Lucas, who was panting, but still hadn't seen the two. The pink-haired girl handed some bread to Lucas, and Lucas broke it in half to give some to Boney.

The dog whimpered and barked when he saw Dia and Claus staring at them.

"What… carrot top?" the pink haired girl asked. Lucas looked up and Dia saw his beautiful blue eyes widen.

"C-Claus, is that you?" Lucas asked quietly. Claus stayed silent and ran up to Lucas and embraced him.

"Luke…" Claus whispered. Lucas, eyes wide, slowly embraced his twin brother back.

"It is you…" Lucas said softly. Dia smiled at the sight.

"Claus, where have you been all these years?" Lucas asked. Claus scratched the back of his head.

"It's a long story," Claus laughed nervously. "If it weren't for Chr- I mean, Dia, I wouldn't be here." Lucas turned to Dia.

"Chris?" Lucas asked confused.

"Y-Yeah, I changed my name to, uh, Dia," the girl said nervously. Lucas walked over to Dia and beamed.

"Thank you," Lucas said quietly. Dia smiled at him and nodded.

"Hey, who's your friend?" the man Dia didn't recognize asked.

"Oh, Duster, this is my friend, um," Lucas trailed off.

"Dia," the girl said.

"Yes, Dia. My friend named Dia. This is Duster," Lucas continued.

"Nice to meet you," Dia said.

"Yeah, same here," Duster said.

"Look, I don't wanna interrupt anything, but Fassad's still comin' after us," the pink haired girl – Kumatora, Dia remembered – said.

"Fassad? Oh, crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh mother _freaking_ crap!" Dia yelled.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked. Before they could continue, the man came running towards them. Two Pigmasks trailed behind him.

"Nwehehehehe!" the shrill voice laughed. "You pathetic fools. There's nowhere to run now!" Fassad turned and saw Claus and Dia. "Well, if it isn't one of the escapees and Commander. Nwehehehehe!"

"What's he talking about?" Lucas asked Dia.

"There was this prison, some planning, some running, that jazz," Dia said nervously.

"You've been a real thorn in our side, you know that? Now that we've found you, King P should be pleased," Fassad said. He took a few steps towards Dia, but Claus stood protectively in front of the group and put his hand on his sword's handle.

"Huh, what's this? You've joined their side, Commander? So be it. Nwehehehehe," Fassad laughed. He glared at Lucas, Kumatora Duster and Boney and smirked. Fassad walked towards the edge of the tower.

"What's funniest of all is that happiness could've been yours had you simply stayed in Tazmily and lived quietly, without a care in the world." Fassad pulled out a banana, took a couple of bites and threw the peel aside. Dia stared at it and got a good feeling as she imagined Fassad slipping on it. Fassad's phone started ringing and he answered it.

"Alright, it's all set, then? I'm just about done here, so have the Mother Porkship on standby above." Fassad put his phone away and smiled broadly at the group. "Thunder Tower is no longer usable, but this is the perfect chance to get rid of the whole lot of you." Fassad grinned.

"Commander, it's always great to know we can replace you, but you…" Fassad pointed to Dia. "We'll need you. I won't try and take you, but I'll have some people come and pick you up."

"As if I'd go back to that hell hole," Dia yelled shakily.

"Let me rephrase that, you brat; they'll be picking you up, whether by force or not, dead or alive, it really doesn't matter to me. As for the rest of you… it's a bit much for lousy rats, but King P loves being flashy. You and Thunder Tower can disappear flashily together," Fassad said smirking.

The group heard a loud noise in the air and saw a helicopter coming towards them. Fassad laughed behind them.

"My ride's here. Later days, pals!" Fassad laughed as he walked, stared back at the group and pulled out his phone. "Ok, all set! Destroy Thunder Tower!" Fassad put his phone away and Thunder Tower started shaking violently. "Well, Lucas. We haven't known each other long, but it's been fun! I'll never forget about you guys! Nwehehehehe!

"Oh, yes, escapee, I have a special surprise for you for your escape. _Nweeeeehehehehe_!" Fassad walked towards the two Pigmasks but suddenly fell and stepped on the banana peel, slipping and falling to his death. The group stared, eyes wide.

"I guess we'll never know what he meant," Kumatora said. Duster laughed nervously.

A ladder dropped down from the helicopter and a girl could be seen. She stared at Dia and gasped.

"H-Hoshi?" Dia asked.

"Well, if it isn't you," the brown haired girl said flatly. "I never expected to run into you here."

"Hoshi, what are you doing with them?" Dia asked.

"Funny, I think your brother asked me the same thing. Well, I gotta go," Hoshi said, disappearing into the helicopter.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Dia asked. The two Pigmasks squealed nervously as the tower continued to shake.

"Guys, we need to go," Duster said urgently.

"But how?" Claus asked. Duster pulled out a red rope.

"Meet Rope Snake," Duster said. "Everyone grab on." Duster latched the Rope Snake to the end of the ladder. Everyone somehow grabbed onto each other. Claus made sure to be close to Dia. A boy stood at the edge of the helicopter and Dia immediately realized it must've been Risk. He wasn't wearing a mask like Claus', but instead had a pair of glasses with blue lenses that looked electronic.

Risk's hair had grown longer that his bangs almost covered his eyes, something Dia remembered he hated, wore a black jacket like Claus' but longer and a visible red shirt underneath, had white jeans and black shoes.

"Dia, that's him," Claus confirmed to her. Dia stared at her brother in disbelief.

"Who is that?" Lucas yelled.

"…Risk? It's Risk!" Dia shouted. He stayed silent as he went back in. The helicopter started shaking everyone off. Dia, thinking about what Fassad had said, turned back to look at the tower and saw the two Pigmasks. They pulled off their masks and were staring back at her wide-eyed. Dia gasped in complete fear. A woman with curly brown hair and red eyes and a man with his wavy black hair and green eyes…those were her parents! They must've snapped back to their senses when they heard their son's name. Now, Fassad had trapped them on top of a tower that was about to explode.

"Gah…!" Duster yelled as the helicopter continued to shake. "They're trying to shake us off! Kumatora! Boney! Lucas! Claus! Dia! Hold on tight!"

Dia could've sworn she heard something talking to Duster, but her mind had gone blank when she saw her parents. She felt her grip slowly loosening, but she quickly tightened it.

"Rope Snake can't support all of our weight!" Duster called to everyone else.

Dia was still blank. She finally found her friends and her brother, but her brother was brainwashed. Her parents were going to be killed but the person who had indirectly caused their deaths had also died by self-committed incidents and to top it off she met a talking snake that was also a rope.

Suddenly, Rope Snake slipped, causing everyone to fall. Dia hadn't even realized it for a few minutes until she heard the others screaming and gravity affecting her. Mixed emotions cluttered her mind, and the long fall made her lose consciousness.

…

**Lucas and Claus reunite! *cries in happiness* But, OH NOES, now they're falling to their possible deaths! D:**

**Like the story would end like that, and after only two chapters? Nooo. Ah, so for those who care enough to read, I beat the game (**_Ha! Just lost __The Game__!*_**). It was one of the darkest endings I've ever experienced. *sob-sob* **

**Well, in the next chapter we see what happens to our characters. Will they survive the fall? And what of Risk and the mysterious characters Hoshi and Arson and their connection to Dia?**

*****_I'm referring to a game called *insert dramatic music* __The Game__. The point of __The Game__ is to not think about __The Game__. If you think about __The Game__, you lose __The Game__, then shout loudly "I LOST__ THE GAME__"____to make other people lose. My friends and I are trying to make it international._

**Chapter 4 - Sunflower Fields. Selected Quote: "**It must've been a real travesty.**"**


	4. Sunflower Fields

***sigh* Haters gonna hate.**

**Special Thanks to: **piplupfan580, Pk Love Omega, Riku's Music Lover, rakkicharms**, **afterdawn95**. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own MOTHER 3, only my ideas and characters. If I did, Reggie would be a bloody pile in a chamber deep underground where he has no contact with the outside world. Being fed to Takano. Limb by limb. **

**Come Back to Me**

Chapter 4 – Sunflower Fields

…

Dia slowly opened her eyes. What had happened? Oh… right, the helicopter. Her parents, Risk, and Lucas… and then Fassad falling off Thunder Tower.

"Just my luck," Dia muttered as she realized she had landed in a field of sunflowers. But where were the others? Dia struggled to stand up. Her head was throbbing in pain. Dia wasn't surprised, wondering how high the fall had been. She actually expected to have a few broken limbs, but she was unharmed as far as the eye could tell.

"I want to show you…" a chilling voice sang. Dia gasped. She turned around, but she didn't see anyone. "Warm moments and dreams…" the voice continued. Dia walked around, searching for the owner of the voice.

"Hello?" Dia asked. A bright light erupted from behind her. As she turned, she nearly fell backwards. It was Hinawa's ghost. Or maybe it was just her imagination?

Hinawa's ghost walked forward past Dia. Reluctant, she followed the image. After walking a few feet, Hinawa suddenly disappeared, surprising Dia and making her gasp. Dia searched around and saw a bit of red cloth... Red stripes and yellow stripes… Lucas!

"Lucas, are you ok?" Dia whispered as she knelt by the unconscious boy. He was lying face down, so Dia turned him on his back. "Lucas, wake up. Lucas!"

"Unh… what… what happened?" Lucas muttered groggily as his eyes fluttered open.

"Lucas, how do you feel?" Dia asked.

"I have a headache… where are we?" Lucas asked.

"A field of sunflowers, but Lucas… I think I saw Hinawa," Dia said.

"What? You saw my mom?" Lucas asked urgently.

"It might've just been my imagination… It felt all too real," Dia explained, looking down. Lucas and Dia stood up. They heard a bark and saw Boney sitting a few feet away from them.

"Hey, boy," Lucas said as he went and pet his dog.

The bright light had returned and Lucas' eyes widened.

"Lucas…" Hinawa's voice whispered.

"M-Mom?" Lucas asked. Hinawa's image appeared before the two teenagers and dog. She had been walking in the opposite direction of them and was moving quickly. Lucas and Dia stared at each other before following the image. Because of the sunflowers completely filling the walking space, the small group found themselves unable to run.

Boney started barking again and Hinawa had slowed down. Her image started fading, making Lucas, Dia and Boney move faster. Boney barked again and ran.

"Boney, come back," Lucas called, but Boney was far ahead of them. Dia and Lucas walked even faster, still not able to run. Hinawa had stopped walking. She turned to Lucas and Dia. Lucas walked forward, but Hinawa soon started walking again.

"Come on, Lucas," Dia said, grabbing Lucas' arm as they followed Hinawa.

"This is so strange…" Lucas said quietly. Dia didn't blame him. He just saw his brother again, but they had been separated almost immediately and now he was seeing his mother. It felt less real as they followed Hinawa. They reached the end of the fields and were at a grassy cliff. Hinawa's image hovered on the other side of the cliff. Lucas ran towards Hinawa, Dia following closely behind him. Lucas jumped to reach Hinawa.

"Lucas, no!" Dia yelled. Lucas had jumped and fallen off the cliff. "Oh no, oh no, oh no…" Hinawa's image stared at Dia. She smiled as Dia found herself drawn to Hinawa. She gasped softly and couldn't control her actions and jumped off the cliff after Lucas. Had Hinawa done this? The rest became a blur as Dia fell.

…

"They're really asleep," a voice said. "At least they don't seem to be hurt." Dia slowly opened her eyes. She was on someone's bed. Lucas slowly woke up next to her. Dia got off the bed and pet Boney, who whined and lay on the floor. She saw two older men on the other side of the room.

"Oh, you're finally awake," one of the old men said. Lucas got off the bed and stared at the old men.

"Alec… Wess…" Lucas said, smiling slightly.

"Don't worry, Boney's fine, too," the man called Alec said. Lucas pet Boney with Dia. After a while, they stopped and stared at the older men.

"It's strange," the man called Wess said. "Hinawa appeared in Alec's dream and told him to pile hay in that exact spot. Then, out of the blue, you fall right in the pile. It's as strange as strange can be."

Lucas and Dia stared at each other at the mention of Hinawa, but didn't say anything.

"My daughter saved your lives," Alec said.

"So you must be Lucas' grandfather," Dia pondered aloud.

"Yes, I am. And you are?" Alec asked.

"O-Oh, my name is Dia. I'm a friend of Lucas'," Dia said, bowing slightly.

"I wonder where everyone else went," Lucas said quietly. "I just saw Claus again and now he's gone again."

"You saw Claus?" Alec asked. Lucas nodded.

"Dia helped me find him," Lucas said.

"It was no problem, Lucas, really. Either way, we would've found you," Dia said. "Besides, we'll find him and the others in no time."

Dia followed Lucas out the door. A frog was sitting in a wheelchair, which slightly amused Dia. Lucas spoke to the frog, but Dia thought about the recent events.

Her parents were possibly dead now. Dia shut her eyes tightly as if it had simply been a bad dream, but it wouldn't go away. Lucas had finished talking to the frog and went up to Dia.

"We should get moving," Lucas said.

"Where are we headed?" Dia asked.

"I'm not sure why, but I feel like we should go," Lucas said. Although vague, it was still compelling. Just as they began walking, Alec came out of the room.

"Lucas, Dia," he called. The two teenagers and Boney went up to him. "Tell me, was Duster with you?"

"Uh, yeah, he was," Lucas said.

"Ah. I thought so. But… I doubt there's any need to worry. I'll let Wess know."

"Of course," Lucas said. Dia had guessed that Wess must've been Duster's father or another close relative.

"Lucas… I guess you must have met one of my Magypsy friends," Alec said.

"Magypsy?" Dia asked.

"One of them helped me unlock my PSI," Lucas said quietly.

"Yes, they might not look like it, but they're trustworthy. They may be able to help you out," Alec said.

"Oh, thank you," Lucas said. Alec walked away and the three went downstairs to leave the building.

"So, what are those Magypsies?" Dia asked.

"Uh, they're hard to explain, but… huh, I don't know too much about them," Lucas said.

"Well, I guess we should get going," Dia said. "I think Alec wants us to find them."

"It kinda seems like it," Lucas said, nodding. The three exited the building and almost immediately Boney started barking.

"Woof woof (What's that?)" Boney barked. He ran off.

"I understood Boney just then… I must've gotten my PSI back but not have realized it," Dia said quietly.

"You couldn't use your PSI?" Lucas asked.

"No, it was something the Pathetic Pigs did," Dia said.

"Pathetic Pigs?" Lucas asked.

"Oh, let's just follow Boney," Dia said. The two ran down the hill and saw a crowd of people all by a bridge.

"What's going on?" Dia asked a person in the crowd.

"This person turned up here tied up," the person explained.

"Ionia?" Lucas asked. Dia stared at Ionia very confused. He- or she – had short pink hair but also a beard and mustache somewhat hidden by a gauge, but seeing his- or her – shoes, they looked feminine. Dia hoped it wasn't a trap.

"Mmmg ffgg gg…" Ionia mumbled, the gauge causing his (Dia simply decided to call it a he) words to be muffled. "…Pwa! Ooh, I undid the gag on my own! I just moved my mouth up and down and slowly slipped it off! Ooh, I'm wonderful I hate to be a bother, but could one of you stand me up?"

Lucas and Dia quickly got to it. Ionia shook his head as is shaking away the dirt on the ground.

"Oh, thank you, darlings! I don't know what happened. I was minding my own business, taking off my make-up, when suddenly I was physically assaulted! Oh, what an unfabulous time to be attacked!"

"It must've been a real travesty," Dia joked quietly, causing a small chuckle from Lucas, but if Ionia heard it or not, she wouldn't know.

"Oh, my! You're that boy I met at the hot spring the other day, aren't you?" Ionia asked Lucas. "It seems the threads of fate have led us to each other again. From the moment I realized you could use PSI, I knew there was something between us. Yes, Lucas, you're undoubtedly the one we Magypsies have been waiting for tens of thousands of years… yes… Can you sense it too? Can't you feel the time drawing near?"

Dia saw a glimpse of confusion on Lucas' face, but Ionia continued.

"It's ok if you can't. I'm not entirely sure, either," Ionia said with a small laugh. He stayed silent for a few moments. "Wait a minute! If I was attacked… Could it mean… I hope Aeolia is alright! I wish I could fly there, but I can't without my makeup!"

"You can use your makeup to fly?" Dia asked.

"Yes. Oh, all I can do now is walk on land like a human. How tragic. Oh, I guess I'll walk if I have to. And all of you, you're coming with me! Come on, let's go to Aeolia's house! Ok?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Lucas said.

"I guess," Dia said.

"Marvelous! Let's make some magic happen! Oh… I mean that in a nice way," Ionia said, winking. Dia and Lucas did their best not to grimace at the statement. Ionia looked up the river. "We could reach Aeolia's house easily by going straight up this river, but…" Ionia trailed off.

"Hold on, you guys," a man said. Dia, Lucas, Ionia and Boney turned to a man standing by the edge of the bridge. "I don't have a clue what you were talking about right now, but if you need to get up the river, then it's our time to shine!"

"Come on, follow us," a man next to him said. The group stared at each other with doubt but followed the two men to a boat. Or maybe it was a canoe. Dia stopped thinking about what it was.

"We just got this. It's the greatest boat ever," one of the men said. Ok, it's a boat. "You'll get on it, right?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," Lucas said subconsciously. They somehow managed to fit in the small boat, but found it was rather slow with the two men paddling it.

"Um, so, Lucas, how have things been?" Dia asked, trying to make small talk.

"It's been… weird. Tazmily changed. A lot," Lucas said as he pet Boney.

"I heard. Lucas… back at Thunder Tower, I think I saw my parents there, when we were leaving," Dia said.

"You did? But that means that…" Lucas' voice trailed off. "Dia, I'm so sorry."

"It-it is fine, Lucas," Dia said in a shaky voice. "It's not your fault. My family should never have come here."

"Chr- ng, Dia, don't talk like that. Please. If you weren't here, I dunno what would've happened between Claus and I. And… seeing Hinawa and everything… I'm just glad you can be here for me right now," Lucas said.

"Lucas… what's going on? Why is Porky doing this?" Dia pondered.

"Porky really is behind this? Oh… He's caused so much trouble for me," Lucas said, covering his eyes, leaning back and chuckling softly. Dia laughed softly.

"It's been rough for you, hasn't it, Lucas? This damned army is growing stronger and stronger," she said.

"We can take care of them, can't we? Ninten, Ana and Loid got rid of Giegue. Ness, Paula, Jeff and Poo got rid of stronger Giegue, Giygas," Lucas said. Dia laughed softly.

"And now it's our turn," Dia said. Lucas laughed a bit as he nodded.

"Oh, we're here," Ionia said delightfully. The group got out of the boat. "Oh, darlings, we need to hurry on over to Aeolia's house."

"How do we get there, exactly?" Lucas asked.

"Oh, just head straight up this path. It's a large shell. It shouldn't be too hard to miss," Ionia said. "But, please hurry." With that, the group ran in the direction and almost immediately saw a shell house.

"Ah, yes, here we are," Ionia said. Lucas opened the door and led he group inside. A bed rested against the wall of the home and a large table with used tea cups was in the center of the room. A man or woman- Oh, not another one, Dia thought – sat on a thrown at the end. Ionia walked over to him.

"Oh, what happened?" Aeolia asked. Dia almost grimaced at the gruff voice. (A/N: I don't know why, but I imagine Aeolia and Locria having the deepest voices among the Magypsies. The rest have more falsetto voices. But that's just to me, of course.)

"Why aren't you wearing any makeup, Ionia?" Aeolia asked.

"This is no time to be silly, Aeolia," Ionia said in a slightly cheery voice. "I was attacked. So I rushed here to see if you were alright."

"I'm just fine. I'm as lovely as always. But never mind me… why don't you untie that rope already?" Aeolia asked.

"Oh? I was in such a shock I never even noticed," Ionia said. Dia just kept wondering how a person didn't notice they were tied up. Especially if they had walked, sat and ran. "What a shock! Lucas, could you and your friend untie me now? Unbelievable! You have no sense of courtesy!"

Lucas and Dia sighed inaudibly as they freed the Magypsy.

"Oh, thank you, Lucas and…. I didn't catch your name," Ionia said to Dia. She quickly introduced herself and Ionia walked over to a mirror. "Ah, who's that fine figure? Why, that's me without any makeup! I'm sexy, even without makeup on!"

Dia giggled a bit, making Ionia glare at her. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was thinking about…" Dia paused uncomfortably. "Baseball caps."

"Baseball… caps?" Ionia asked.

"…Y-Yes. They… turn me on," Dia lied. She cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"Real smooth," Lucas said quietly as he snickered.

"Oh, shut it, will you?" Dia laughed.

"Ok, but why baseball caps?" Lucas asked.

"I dunno, Ness and Ninten just popped into my mind, so, yeah," Dia said.

"You better watch out. Paula and Ana's ghosts can come out of nowhere at any time and haunt you," Lucas laughed.

"Don't forget Pippi," Dia added. Lucas laughed. He and Dia played with Boney as they waited for Ionia to finish putting his makeup on.

"Just one second… There, I'm all done! I'm pretty again," Ionia giggled.

"Yuck," Aeolia said. Everyone turned to him. "You can keep that lipstick. Indirect kisses with other girls aren't my thing."

'_Aw, crap, now they're girls_?' Dia thought.

"Oh. I have a bad feeling... What could it be? What could it be? What could it bee~?" Ionia said n a singsong voice. Suddenly the room got dark. Different colored lights flashed through the windows. Soon, the ground started shaking.

"Earthquake?" Lucas wondered.

"It's far worse than that," Aeolia said as the ground continued to shake, growing more and more violent. Dia and Lucas lost their balance and crashed into each other, but soon somewhat got their balance back. The room got dark again then more lights started flashing. A bright white light ended it all.

"Oh, my! Aeolia," Ionia yelled. The group turned and saw Aeolia's body slowly fading. "Your body, your body, it's starting to disappear! Oh, my!"

"So it is! I'm disappearing! Oh, but I'm well," Aeolia said.

"But… does this mean…?" Ionia's voice trailled off.

"The Needle I've protected for so long in Osohe Castle… Someone has pulled it," Aeolia said dramatically. "Someone able to pull the Needles has finally appeared. The Dark Dragon will soon awaken."

A noise was heard, something like glass shaking. Ionia, Lucas, Boney and Dia saw the tea table lifting up into the air and moving closer to the bed. They saw a passageway appearing from underneath the table.

"You can get to the courtyard of Osohe Castle through this underground path. If the Needle really has been pulled, then I will vanish soon. But it would be smart to know who pulled it. Someone with good intentions or dark…? The answer may change the fate of the world as we know it.

"Ooh, today is the day I disappear. Ionia, what's-your-face, what's-your-face-two and dog…" Aeolia giggled. "Bye-bee!" Aeolia's body dissolved into a ball of light and faded away. A razor and lipstick fell onto the thrown-like chair.

"Aeolia…" Ionia muttered. "You were an open-hearted person. That's why we got along so well." Ionia turned to Lucas, Dia and Boney and took a deep breath. "Ok. Let's follow this path!

…

***Lyrics sung by Hinawa's image were taken from vicsedobean's cover of **_**Theme of Love**_**. Oh, I need to stop reffering to other things.**

***says like Rosalina from Mario Galaxy & Mario Kart* Haha! A retelling of MOTH- *shot* *shot* *shot repeatedly* Oh Pork, why? Oh, there's blood everywhere! Oh, it hurts. Ahh… Oh Pork, I- I just- oww.**

**Alright, anyway, yeah, we're following the storyline of MOTHER 3, but tweaked. For those who already know the plot of MOTHER 3, you should pretty much figure everything out. Only there will be more surprises in the future. Like the ending :P For those of you who submitted Ocs, we will see them again, don't worry.**

**Chapter 5 – Legend of the Dark Dragon. Selected Quote: "**Eww, how gross.**"**

**~Rika**


	5. Legend of the Dark Dragon

***bangs head against wall repeatedly* Oh, these updates are taking longer than I intended! Sorry, guys. School started again. And there's already more drama. It took less than TEN MINUTES in school for my life to suck. And then, I ruined my phone. *bangs head against wall***

**And, being the only person who really answered it, special thanks to Riku's Music Lover for her answer! Sadly, because I have no real source of internet and my phone's… mentally retarded, I can't put her answer. Sorry! :( **

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Well, not everyone. Anyway, here's the next chapter! Oh, wait, disclaimer.**

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own MOTHER 3, only my ideas and characters. If I did own the game, why on earth would I be writing this?

**Come Back to Me**

**Chapter 5 – Legend of the Dark Dragon**

…

Following the trail Aeolia had shown them, the group had found themselves in the sewers. They saw strange mummy-like cats Boney discovered were named Cleocatras as he alone took one out.

"Oh, this place is so _disgusting_! Who would think I would find myself in _this_ setting?" Ionia complained immediately.

"Let's just get going," Dia said to Lucas. He nodded and led the group. They approached two Cleocatras and a battle began.

"Oh, hideous," Ionia screamed.

"Boney, sniff them," Lucas ordered. "Dia, this is a good chance to see if you really can use your PSI."

"Ah, Lucas, you're right," Dia said. She focused on a PSI spell she had known. She had only learned PK Freeze, Shied and Healing, all only in Alpha mode. There was also PK Light, but it took a lot of her energy, so it was best to use something that didn't take too much but was also useful to her friends in battle.

"PK Freeze," Dia chose. Boney whimpered; the smell had been too much for him to handle.

"PK Flash," Lucas shouted. He pointed his fingers at the two Cleocatras and a bright light emerged from his fingers. One of the mummy cats stopped moving.

Dia took advantage of this as she yelled, "PK Freeze!" A cold, icy blast emerged from her fingers onto the cat. Lucas had pulled a stick from Pork-knows-where and started beating at the Cleocatras. Boney started attacking them with his owner.

Dia wondered if her melee attacks were strong and looked around for a weapon she could use. She saw a stranded pipe a few feet away and quickly dove for it. She got hurt by a Cleocatra chasing her, but it was nothing compared to the Pigmask's abuse.

"Dear, I'll help you out," Dia heard Ionia say to Lucas. A green light enveloped Lucas as he was healed (slightly). One of the cats yowled and a green light enveloped the numb cat.

"It can use Lifeup? Oh, come on!" Lucas yelled. "Counter." A yellow shield-like light appeared in front of Boney and faded to a lighter color.

"Meow!" The Cleocatra yowled. Its neck bandages uncoiled as its head circled around Lucas and recoiled around him. He yelped in surprise as he couldn't move. Dia took her pipe and beat the Cleocatra around Lucas. Boney had gotten rid of the numb Cleocatra and came to help.

"Eee!" Ionia screamed. Dia and Boney had gotten the Cleocatra off of Lucas and they beat it until it had disappeared in a flash of light.

'_That takes care of the bodies_,' Dia thought. The three panted as Ionia groaned in disgust.

"Eww, how gross," Ionia continued to complain. Lucas and Dia glared at Ionia, but didn't say a word about it. They continued through the sewer, encountering more Cleocatras, but got rid of them with melee attacks and simple PSI.

Lucas mostly used PK Flash and occasionally PK Love Alpha while Dia decided to use PK Freeze. They both used Lifeup and Healing whenever they were hurt or the Cleocatras cast one of them asleep, but with their energy running low, they were limited. Ionia had healed the group, barely enough to keep them alive, however. Panting, the group reached the end of the sewer line.

"Oh, I'm beat," Lucas panted. Boney whined and Lucas scratched him behind his ears. They had found a large crate in the sewer along the way filled with Beef Jerky, Rotten Milk and Magic Tarts. Although possibly very unhealthy from being down there, Lucas, Dia and Boney split it. It actually tasted better than Dia expected. ("_Desperate times call for desperate measures_," Lucas said to Dia as he downed the milk, leaving Dia whimpering in disgust.)

"All we have to do is climb this, right?" Dia said aloud.

"Hope so," Lucas said. They climbed up the ladder and found themselves outside Osohe Castle. There was a pit with strange, purple smoke coming out of it. The group walked towards it and Ionia gasped.

"So the Needle really has been pulled," she said to herself and ran towards the pit with the rest of the group trailing behind her. "I have absolutely no idea who could've pulled it. The Dark Dragon's heart will become as light or as dark as the person who pulls it… That's what is said, anyway, but it's difficult to sense anything here. I don't sense a heart of good or evil. I always assumed the Dark Dragon had been sealed away for eternity."

"Excuse me, Ionia?" Lucas asked, but had been cut off.

"We still have a chance left," Ionia continued. "Lucas, you were able to learn PK Love. Could it be that you're also able to…?"

"Ionia, please tell me, what's going on?" Lucas asked.

"Oh, that's right. I haven't explained anything at all," Ionia said. "I need to tell you about the Needles."

"The Needles?" Dia and Lucas asked unanimously.

"…Yes. First, know this. These are specially protected islands. We reside together upon these islands with a limitless power. That power is the Dragon that sleeps in the darkness underneath these islands. The Dragon is as large as these islands put together. Because the Dragon is asleep, these islands are protected from the Dragon's disaster. But its power is too much for humans to control. It was for this reason that our Magypsy ancestors placed seven "Needles" in the Dragon to put it to sleep, one Needle for each Magypsy. For an incredibly long time, we have guarded the Needles, but it has been told that someone to wake the Dragon will appear when its power is needed.

"However, if the one who needs the Dragon's power has a dark heart, the power will obey all that is evil. It's very possible that everything could be completely destroyed simply to satisfy wicked ambition. On the other hand, the exact opposite is what we could all hope for. If a person with a good heart pulls the Needle and uses the Dragon's power, the fate of all evil will be washed away, and all life as we know it will shine brightly. That is what is told.

"Finally, listen to this, but don't worry. When each of the seven Needles are pulled, we Magypsies will cease to be, our millennia-long lifetime ending. Oh, isn't that just romantic of us~?" Ionia finished. Lucas, Dia and Boney remained silent. "…There's one other legend. It says only those with the power of PK Love can pull the Needles. Not even we Magypsies have that ability. In other words, you, Lucas, can pull the Needles because you're a chosen boy."

"Chosen…boy?" Lucas said quietly. Dia saw his eyes full of shock and confusion.

"Lucas?" she asked in worry. She put her hand on Lucas' shoulder and Lucas slowly raised his hand and grabbed it softly. "Come on, let's go play with Boney for a bit," Dia said softly. Lucas nodded his head and released Dia's hand. They walked over to Boney who was sniffing something.

"What's this?" Lucas wondered as he picked it up. Dia noticed it was a strange telephone-like device. It started ringing, startling Lucas.

"Answer it," Dia whispered, so Lucas obeyed.

"Um, hello?" Lucas asked, putting the phone between Dia and himself to listen.

"C-C-Commander, please hurry here! We've located the next Needle," a voice said over the line. "But, but the monkey! We need it! The monkey can open it! Gah, what a pain in the neck! Anyways, the monkey's the key! I'll get into details later! Please come to the Chimera Lab! You remember where it is, right?"

Lucas and Dia had a mouthed argument for who should answer, but Lucas had lost. "N-No, can you remind me?"

"Huh? Your voice sounds a little different, Commander," the voice said. Lucas glared sharply at Dia. "Well, anyways… Please take the Cross Road train to the factory, and once you arrive, head west from the ropeway station behind the factory. You got that?"

"Yes," Lucas stammered.

"Alright, there shouldn't be a problem, then. Please hurry," the voice said, hanging up. Lucas hung up the transceiver-like phone and pocketed it.

"I guess we should go to the Chimera Lab now," Lucas said. Dia nodded. They went over to Ionia.

"That ladder over there is a shortcut to Tazmily," Ionia said, pointing to a ladder on the other side of the courtyard. "Head there, dears. I'm getting worried about my own Needle now… I just know we'll all meet again. If we don't, that means one of us has left the world…" Ionia giggled. "Bye-bee!" Ionia struck a pose, her body becoming thin like paper and floated away from the group.

"This is all so strange," Lucas said, putting his hand on his forehead as if he had a headache.

"Hey, Lucas, like you said, we can get through this, right?" Dia said encouragingly. Lucas smiled at her.

"Yeah, that's right. We should head back to town," Lucas said.

"W-Wait, Lucas, I forgot to ask, how's Nana?" Dia asked.

"Nana? Oh, no. I haven't seen her in so long. I didn't even tell her I was setting off to find Duster. I've been so busy lately. Maybe we can see her before we go to the lab?" Lucas suggested.

"I don't blame you, but that's a good idea… I wonder what happened to Claus and everyone," Dia pondered. She started worrying about her… friend. And friends... She didn't exactly know Kumatora and Duster that well.

"Dia, if I know Claus, he's fine. He's probably looking for us right now," Lucas said.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Alright, no time to waste! Let's go," Dia said as the three went down the ladder.

…

"Too… many… enemies," Dia panted. Lucas, Dia and Boney were leaning against the castle walls due to fatigue. "I'm not used to this."

"Don't worry. Soon, it'll be like nothing," Lucas said. Dia smiled lightly at the blond. "Alright, get up. Let's go find Nana." Dia nodded as the two went through the graveyard. As soon as they had entered, Boney started barking and ran up a hill.

"I guess Nana will have to wait," Lucas said sadly as he and Dia ran after Boney.

Nippolyte, the gravedigger had been there. Dia hadn't known him well, but she watched as Lucas approached the elderly man and she had been isolated from the conversation. Dia didn't mind, it was none of her business. She saw a single grave on the hill and a patch of sunflowers growing. It must have been _her_ grave…

"Lucas, have you seen Flint?" the gravedigger asked. Lucas shook his head. "He was just here visiting Hinawa's grave. He's probably headed back to the mountains to look for Claus again." Lucas shifted his weight nervously.

"Look for Claus, visit Hinawa's grave," Nippolyte sighed. "Look for Claus, visit Hinawa's grave. That's all Flint does anymore. You're his only salvation, Lucas. You've grown so strong that Flint doesn't need to worry as much anymore. You've grown up into such a good young man."

Nippolyte pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Lucas. "Here, Flint gave me this. He asked me to give it to you the next time you came by. Your father said it was a good luck charm he's had since he was a boy himself." Lucas stared at the item.

"My dad said it's his Courage Badge…" Lucas said softly. It was dirty, but still I good shape. "Thank you." Nippolyte nodded and stared at Hinawa's grave. Lucas walked over to Dia.

"Ok, let's go," he said. Dia nodded and followed Lucas and Boney. Dia had noticed that Lucas seemed tense as he walked. He buried his face in his hands and sighed loudly. Dia realized Lucas must've been very stressed out after everything. A rest would do him some good, but their friends were important as well.

"Um, Lucas, why don't we go and see Nana for a little while? Maybe it will give you a chance to relax. You seem tense," Dia said reassuringly. Lucas merely nodded.

"Woof, woof. (She's right, Lucas.)" Boney barked.

"Ok, I get it," Lucas laughed. "Let's go before I change my mind." He stretched a bit and started walking towards town.

…

**This chapter was a little shorter than the others, but I have AP World History with the worst teacher ever, so… yeah. Sadly, no time for a selected quote! School's driving me insane, sorry guys. I need a chill pill…**


	6. Authoress' Note

Author's Note

**It's official. I am the WORST author ever. I'm oh-so sorry for not updating this in almost 2 months. School destroyed my writing time D: Especially my AP class, which for those of you who aren't familiar with the term, Advanced Preparation (I think that's what it's called).**

**Gross. Anyway, there are a few bumps in the road up ahead. In November, I'm having my 15****th**** birthday, which is technically like a sweet 16****th**** since my parents are from Central America, technically making me from Central America. I also have some pretty serious spinal surgery planned in December right in the middle of Finals week, so I'm afraid I can't update until maybe after January D:**

**Even worse, I don't have anything to use as a filler chapter which means you guys still miss the story! OTL **

**So, instead, I have a very special offer. On deviantART, I make paper crafts, which you can see in my gallery as well as a couple completed ones, like Claus :D. If any of you have an OC(s) you would like to bring to 3D life, message me.**

**All I would need is maybe a picture of your OC. If you don't have one, you can look through my gallery, pick one as a base, and give me details on coloring/appearance changes.**

**I also have made paper crafts of most characters from the MOTHER series :3**

**dA (delete spaces):**

**lettucegirlchristy. deviantart. com**

**Alright, my dear readers, I bid you adieu.**

**Rika.**


	7. Resolution

**Guess who's still alive? :D Hehe, sorry for the delay. I'm finally fully recovered from my surgery and I'm still adjusting to being back to school. Unfortunately, my teachers gave me terrible grades because I missed a few weeks. It's gonna be hell fixing them.**

**Oh, and thanks to all the kind reviews!**

**In other news, any KH fans here? If you haven't seen the Special Trailer for 3D, go watch it. Now. *squeals at Xion with the person she's with at the end of the trailer***

**Anyway, let's get to the story!**

Come Back to Me

Chapter 6 – Resolution

…

As she walked, the girl snapped out of her daze. Where was she going again? And why was she going there? The girl sighed.

"What am I doing?" she asked herself. She tucked a piece of her silver hair behind her ear. It was growing past her shoulders already…

"There you are," a voice said. The girl looked up. A girl roughly the same age as herself walked up to her, accompanied by a boy. "We've been looking for you."

"You have? I… didn't know," the girl said quietly.

"Come on, let's go," the boy said. The girl walked with them to the landing site. A helicopter came down just as they arrived. A Pigmask came out first.

"Commander, are you sure you're ok?" The Pigmask asked.

"Yes… I'm fine," a familiar voice said from inside the helicopter. The girl watched as more Pigmasks exited the helicopter and eventually, Risk, or the Commander.

"What happened out there?" the other girl asked.

"Thunder Tower is destroyed, and Fassad has disappeared," one Pigmask informed them.

"Destroyed? How?" the boy asked.

"Just some brats who can use PSI decided to interfere. We saw the traitor and one of the escapees with them," another Pigmask said. The girl noticed Risk clench his fist at this.

"Commander, would you like to report to King P?" the first Pigmask asked.

"You can do it. I have nothing to report," Risk said. Something was strange in his behavior. The Pigmasks depart and Risk was left with the girl and the two others.

"So, Fire Prince, what's gotten into you?" the boy asked. Risk glared at him.

"Nothing, I'm just… tired," Risk said.

"So Fassad's missing," the second girl said. "Oh well, he was getting annoying." She and the boy begin to converse separately. Risk began walking away.

"Wait, Risk," the girl said, stopping him.

"What?" Risk asked, clearly bothered.

"What really happened at Thunder Tower? You seem… strange," the girl observed. Risk glanced at the two others before walking away from the girl.

"Come on," he said. The girl quickly followed him. They went into an empty hallway, but they didn't speak for a few moments.

"Risk?" the girl asked. Risk put his hand to his forehead and sighed.

"My memories are returning," he said.

"What?" the girl asked.

"Back at Thunder Tower… something happened to trigger my memories. After what happened, the memories led to more memories. They're not strong, but I remember bits and pieces of my life before this. Some are clear, but others are blurry. I remember… certain faces of people. People very special to me… Rebecca, my parents were there. And my… my sister," Risk struggled to say. "I can't even remember her name…"

"Risk…" Rebecca said quietly.

"My parents… they died on Thunder Tower," Risk mumbled.

"Risk, that's-!"

"Don't say anything," Risk told her. She followed his eyes and saw two Pigmasks approaching them.

"Commander, it's time for your treatment," one Pigmask said.

"Treatment… yes," Risk quietly repeated. "Can you give me a minute?"

"Certainly, Commander," the other Pigmask said. They walked to the end of the hall, keeping their eyes on Risk and Rebecca. The automatic door opened, so they took a few steps back.

"Risk, you can't go with them," Rebecca whispered.

"I know. I'll forget everything I've just remembered," Risk said bitterly. "I dunno what to do…"

"Risk…" Rebecca said quietly.

"Commander, are you almost finished?" One of the Pigmasks asked.

"Almost," Risk said. "Look… I'll get my memories erased. But I want you to tell me everything I've told you."

"What if you don't believe me?" Rebecca asked.

"Then…" Risk looked at his gloved hands. There were two buttons each for securing the gloves. He ripped one off from the left glove and handed it to Rebecca. "Show me this."

"Commander?" the Pigmask asked again.

"Calm down, I'm coming," Risk said. He nodded to Rebecca and walked over to the Pigmasks. Rebecca watched as he disappeared behind the automatic door with the Pigmasks.

…

**This was shorter than I wanted, but hopefully it's enough. Yes, we're finally gonna see what's happening on the other side. And thus we enter an arc.**

**Rebecca will be an important character in the future. In SB's rewrite, she'll be introduced much earlier since… well, I don't want to give any spoilers.**

**Chapter 7 – Ashes. Selected Quote:** "Did you miss me?"


End file.
